Semiconductor Equipment Delivery Times Double to One Year as Chipmakers Plan Early Orders

According to Korean media, major semiconductor equipment suppliers including Applied Materials, ASML, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and KLA have doubled lead times for key equipment from approximately 6 months to around 1 year, amid surging orders driven by AI infrastructure and advanced chipmaking.

Samsung and SK Hynix procurement teams are monitoring delivery schedules closely and have reportedly devised early ordering strategies to prevent new fab construction timelines from disrupting. Separately, Micron Technology increased its long-term U.S. investment commitment to $250 billion from $200 billion, while TSMC raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $600-640 billion, with 70-80% allocated to advanced process nodes. SEMI's latest forecast expects global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales to reach $165.9 billion in 2026, up 23.2% year-over-year.